Fred Lamb Taxi, Barney Miller, Alice, All in the Family, Soap, Carol Burnett- the 1970’s was a very, VERY good decade, the last really great decade, of television broadcasting..
I don't know. I just never found this show to be all that funny. None of the characters appealed to me. None of the actors were very good. Personally, I don't see what you "love" about it. To each his own, I guess.
@Harris Salman .. You're responding to a comment from months ago, yet I'm the "troller?" A different opinion does not make one a troll. Have a nice day.
For me, it would be All in the Family with Taxi a *close* second. No disrespect to the Honeymooners, but I feel the two I listed were the best sitcoms.
All in the family was a bit heavy. Delving into politics and social strife. It's off my radar for those reasons. The Honeymooners and Taxi would have me in stitches from the genius comedic writing.
@@WintersWar There are (were) a lot of hilarious sitcoms that I've enjoyed over the years. What sets AITF apart are the reasons you've given. IMO, AITF was the best sitcom *blend* of comedy and drama, no one did it better.
@@mindriot91_96 The reasons I've given is why the show was largely repellent to me. Dwelling on the negatives of mankind, the Edith rape episode is just one over the top example of several. nah, not even in my top 20.
@@WintersWar Life's tough, and not everything works out the way it's intended. AITF didn't sugarcoat things, they tackled issues that simply weren't discussed on TV back then. I understand that the truth is uncomfortable for some people, but I wouldn't dismiss this sitcom with a simple wave of the hand. This was groundbreaking stuff. That stated, I think Taxi was an incredible sitcom, otherwise I wouldn't be here in this comment section.
Please bring this back please bring this back please bring this back I know what year it is but everybody needs to laugh and God knows things is and God understands people's, and pray to God is Good in time for us all together,!!!.?
Because it went to NBC, switching from ABC. In it's first few years, it was one of the funniest shows ever on television. When Carol Kane became a regular, the show lost its edge. It just wasn't funny anymore.
@@jimmalachowsky4052 Just happen to disagree in a friendly way. By the time Taxi had switched to NBC from ABC, the show had lost it's edge. That's why ABC dropped it in the first place. It's still mystery as to why Seinfeld got all the attention it got, because it was nowhere near as brilliant as Taxi (especially in it's first few years). To me, Seinfeld just wasn't funny.
@@gregrambo606 I have to disagree. Both Taxi and Seinfeld are in my top ten best comedies ever. And I thought Carol Kane was an excellent addition as Simka. Truth be told, I was never that big a fan of Andy Kaufman. To me, Christopher Lloyd as Reverend Jim might just be the funniest character in TV comedy history!
@@jimmalachowsky4052 Nope. Danny DeVito as Louie DePalma made that show, even though Judd Hirsch was the top billed guy in the show. Hirsch was an excellent straight man though. Seinfeld to me was nothing but a laugh track. No way in the top 20 of sitcoms. You're right right about Christopher Lloyd though. He was a HUGE addition to the show starting in the second season.
The part with the clean cab is right on. Actually, you had to bribe the dispatcher to get a cab that everything worked, like the heater, windshield wipers, brakes. One thing that worked in every cab, the meter. You never had a spare tire and sometimes the trunk key didn't work, if you had one. If you had a flat 30 miles out of town with a passenger you called in and waited for a cab to come and get your customer, which could be an hour or more. The cab would pick up your customer and leave you there with the flat. Eventually a tow truck would come, I waited as long a 3 hours, and change the flat you could have changed in 10 minutes yourself if you had a jack, spare with air, tire iron and trunk key. In all the cabs I drove, I never had all 4. I went back to the garage one morning and gave the boss 5$. No conversation, just handed him a fiver. Left with one of the newest Checker Cabs in Chicago, and every morning after that. This was Yellow and Checker Cab in Chicago, not some little company in Iowa. And a word of advice, if you have an incident in a cab and they make you an offer, take it, it is the last one you will see and in the 70's, it was 7 years or so before you got a court date and the cab companies owned the insurance company.
Every bit is true. The Insurance company was Calumet Casualty and it was owned by Yellow Cab. Yellow and Checker were owned by the same family and everybody thought they were competitors. There were many other adventures, the door keys often would not unlock the cars so you never locked all the doors because you couldn't get back in. This cost me once when I left my college books in the cab and somebody took them. Almost night driver carried a gun and most of them were robbed at least once, some more than once. For a while in Chicago, there were more cab drivers killed every year than Police. The person who oversaw this was the cab commissioner, Jayne Burne. Yes the soon to be mayor. The commissioner before her was actually named Jimmie Carter. No, not the President. Jimmie went to prison, that's why the job opened up. Jayne knew nothing about the cab business or much else for that matter, but Daly liked her. Ability was never a requirement for a political job. If I had more time, I would explain how the cabs were examined for the year. I once brought 6 cabs to Carter and he gave me the medallions to put on the cabs. He never saw one of them.
@@jessiejames7492 Well, hanks for the response. As I said, I drove in Chicago but we always thought that all the large cities were basically the same. In a time of cop bashing, and I am not one, a short story. My Yellow broke down in a very bad neighborhood on the south side a t 10 PM. I called for a tow and was told 2-3 hours. Walking was out of the question and no one was around. I had a good deal of money on me. A Chicago Police car pulled up with 2 Black officers. I told them my story and they told me they would give me a ride to the elevated station. Instead they received permission from dispatch and drove me all the way to the Yellow garage on the near north side, about 12 miles. I tried to give them a little $ and they refused and drove away towards the south side. They didn't have to do that, but they did. I never forgot that. These types of things happen 100's of times a day and never make the news, they should.
@@dbeaus youre so right. its always the bad and negative gets the big news. sensationalism sells. I am so glad for those cops who did the right thing. these days we can always write compliments to them. internet is very powerful. i always do if i am given good , service. i write in to compliment the person to the company . many go unnoticed, unthanked , unfortunately. the press these days iswicked, wicked,. thanks for sharing your lovley story. you should try to publicise it. even if it was years ago. especially now with allthise negativity
@@jessiejames7492 Well, I read once that over 95% of the news is negative, I wonder how much is the truth. I have thought about writing about these adventures driving, but I didn't think anyone would believe them. Taxi was a great show and funny, but it never got into the real experience of cab driving. Much of that would not be funny. For a short while you are this persons confidant. They will tell you things they wouldn't tell anyone, not even their wives/husbands. And just like the news, most of what your rides tell you is negative and depressing. Try listening to that for 12 hours. You just listen, nod your head and keep driving. Customers don't know that while you are driving them, you are making plans for your next customer, listening to the radio, watching for problems, etc. Still, most of my customers were just ordinary people trying to get by and be happy. At the end of a 12 hour shift, I couldn't tell you what 3 of them looked like. I have been asked over the years if I would recommend driving for a living, No.
What do you mean 'this show fails"? Louie DePalma was a great character, as were ALL of the characters on this show. The entire cast made this show the best comedy ever.
@@mcmlxii4419 No~NOPEJohn Charles Walters Company, in association with Paramount Network TelevisionTold the cast "We will run as long as Danny DeVito signs when Mr DeVito says good bye we all say good bye"
@@farq2688 Well, if you were quoting the producer that's different. This show not only had good writers, it also had a good cast of characters who ALL worked well together. Danny Devito and Andy Kaufman (and later Christopher Lloyd) were, of course, the funniest of the characters, because they were meant to be.
@@mcmlxii4419he means exactly what he said. Without the DePalmo character, the show would have failed. I don't agree 100%, as there are sitcoms that don't have a character like Louie, but Taxi would have been SOOOOOO much less funny without him, and would have been a very different show. Louie was a great character played by an equally great actor.
Over the yrs. I've been able to purchase DVD copies of the best shows of the 60's through the 90's. (Odd Couple, Sanford and Son, Barney Miller, Rockford Files, Magnum P.I. even the old Bugs Bunny Cartons, etc..) It took time but now I own an 4 ft. tall by 8 ft. wide book shelf full of these shows. I canceled my cable service a yr. ago w/no regrets. Now when I want to see a good show I just put in a DVD and enjoy. T.V. programming today stinks, and I wouldn't take anything for the collection of shows I now own.....
Watch Devito play Martini (a minor role) in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, in which he plays an introvert, who's, like, a quiet, muttering INTROVERTED introvert, and then try to believe it's the same actor playing loudmouth extrovert Louie De Palma. That's acting talent.
I liked Taxi. Louie was great, one of those characters you loved to hate. Never cared for Andy Kaufman, thought he was just weird, the whole alter ego thing was just bizarre.
I met Andy through "Taxi" and I thought Latka was so unfunny... the behind the scenes stories and Andy himself are 10 times funnier. Christopher Lloyd's character was hysterical like Devito's character.
And the guy who played John, Randall Carver, got let go after the first season. The producers said he just wasn't connecting with the audience, based on the surveys they had done. He was replaced by Christopher Lloyd as Reverend Jim. After the third season, Jeff Conaway as Bobby got fired because of his drug problems.
Yeah it was kinda new we were watching Sanford and Son and stuff you know Meathead Archie Bunker you know and then taxi came on and it was kind of a breath of fresh air if you look at it that way loved it still like to watch it I think Louise probably the funniest one
Oh God, I forgot about that, it kept on making the same crash crash crash crash crash sound and then it would stop and start again and everyone kept turning around and looking as it continued.
@@davidmalik9821 The one with Louie being invited to Mrs. Mackenzie's dinner party when he knows that everybody that messes with her, the cab company's owner, ends up dead. That one stands out to me.
3:22 That little lady is Ruth Gordon from "Every which way but loose" and "Any which way you can", I'd recognise that voice anywhere. Danny did a brilliant job playing Louie, he's my second favourite character in the show
Those are the movies you picked? Oscar for Rosemary's Baby! And the best movie of her's - Harold and Maude! See it - but don't read about it first - just watch it.
Happy Birthday Danny DeVito born on November 17, 1944. He is an American actor, comedian, director, producer. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series Taxi. - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_DeVito
Loved the show as a kid of the 70's but it definitely showed the Dark ways of the world then. Alot wasnt good in any major city especially here in Chicago or New York then. Those of my age will know....
I can't remember the episode but I think there was a moment when Louie goes "does anybody like this vending machine?" And a couple people nod and agree. And then he just knocks it over and walks away. Comedic gold.
@@fintan8145 I was thinking the same thing about the legal reasons. They may even have a couple if cast members from Taxi show up on It's always sunny to address this. It would make a great two parter. Plus it would give old school fans of Taxi a reason to tune in.
You know what NBC missed up maybe the creators of Taxi should have agree to go on HBO instead of NBC when ABC did not want to pick up Taxi again. I feel Taxi would have gone on to many more seasons on HBO instead of NBC. NBC during the 82-83 season was bad.... Taxi on HBO would have worked better.
